Intermedio 2.3
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Transcript of Intermedio 2.3
WRITING & SPEAKING: AREAS WE NEED TO WORK ONIn this issue of Intermedio 2 you will find advice for writing effective compositions and some tips for building your self-confidence as an English speaker.
Traditionally Spanish students have usually failed the speaking part of an
exam because they never got enough practice. These days writing seems to be
a new problem area. Solutions lie in the two other skills: reading and listening.
Reading is critically important for a very simple reason: there is vocabulary
that we only use in written English. In Spanish we seldom pronounce words like
no obstante, and certain idioms (e.g. esto es pan comido) are not used on a
daily basis. It is far more likely for us to come across those expressions in the
written form. The situation is not any different in English. Students don’t usually
hear expressions like furthermore and terms such as elated, which are almost
exclusively confined to the written register. So if we want to improve our voca-
bulary (and our syntax) we need to open a few books.
Af for the speaking skills one can say the exact same thing. We will never
get used to words or structures of our target language if we are not exposed to
it in some form. The key here is exposure and practice. It has been calculated
that a 18-month-old child uses around 3,800 (three thousand eight hundred)
language units per day (a “day” being 12 hours). Now that’s a lot of practice!
So it is as simple as this: you want to write well? Read more. You want to
speak better? Listen and practice more often.
[1]
We love to fill in the blanksIt is beyond our control, isn’t it? We get this amazing satis-faction from filling out gaps.Is it sheer horror vacui?
INTERMEDIO 2Mach 28, 2011
Written byRodolfo de la Peñafor his belovedstudentsat EOI Laredo
Reading foreign magazines is a fun
way of being exposed to real language
7 tips for making people believe your spoken English is really good
Show acceptable pronunciation
People react well to good pro-
nunciation. It’s a bit like looking good
when you go to a party.
Use restrictive expressions
If you say things like in my expe-
rience, or as far as I know you show
tact and hint at your experience/
knowledge.
Remember fillers
When you can’t think of the word
you can always “buy time” by saying
the thing is, you know, I mean, what
I’m try to say is, etc.
Don’t innovate. Imitate
If you are certain that the usual
verb-noun combination is to keep a
diary or to keep animals in cages (we
saw that on March 10) go ahead and
say it. Don’t try to think of it yourself.
You can be speechless
When you don’t know what to
say you can always say that you’re
at a loss for words. The expression
I’m speechless works every time (un-
less you are asked something ob-
vious like your name).
Express uncertainty
Only idiots always speak matter-
of-factly about everything. Try to
sound like you’re not totally sure
about everything. It shows modesty
and elegance.
Resort to general but not
slangy terms
DNA can be described as a thing
or stuff. Substance or material are
definitely better and, if you can say
deoxyribonucleic acid... well, that’s
impressive. But we will often find we
can’t think of the exact term so be
ready to employ words like: device,
material, tool or group.
[2]
THINGS WE DO
In order to learn English 1. Jose spent some weeks in Dublin. Of course not everyone can do that in March.
2. María Jesús meets with a native speaker in San-toña.
3. Others are happy just coming to class every single day.
We’re ready fo face a fire
ARE YOU A WEIRDO?On March 15 we discussed the fascinating world of weirdos. Do you remember?
Dictionaries define weirdo as a
person whose dress or behavior
seems strange or eccentric. Of cour-
se this doesn’t quite solve the pro-
blem. It simply forces us to ask our-
selves just what we understand by
strange or eccentric.
Strange, weird, bizarre
At any rate, one thing is clear.
Intermediate students are supposed
to have already mastered basic
oppositions such as cold/hot and
happy/sad. Yes. You are now on a
whole new level which demands the
use of more expressive vocabulary
like, for instance, the pairs freezing/
boiling and overjoyed/devastated. By
using these extreme adjectives you
show accuracy and avoid abusing
the adverb very or making funny fa-
ces.
Advice
If you need to use an extreme
adjective ( but suddenly find yourself
in a tight spot. You can:
1. Say extremely or really and
then use a basic adjective (e.g. He
was really excited about the trip).
2. Use a softener like
kind of or sort of (e.g. It
was kind of uncomfortable
but I didn’t complain).
3. Use a superlati-
ve (e.g. He was one of
the most obnoxious
men I’ve ever seen).
Cultural note
In the U.S. diversity is not new
and tolerance to surprising or striking
attitudes is in many respect genuine.
This time I don’t mean to tolerance to
race or ethnic background (which can
still be an issue in certain areas) but
to the fact that in the USA one is
allowed to be peculiar in ways that
might be looked down on in Europe.
The softened expression kind of
weird makes it all the more obvious.
In the US, if you love M&Ms or Star
Wars and choose to decorate your
office with M&Ms or Star Wars me-
morabilia it’s peculiar but socially ac-
cepted because it shows a part of
who you are. And if you have a Ro-
lling Stones fetish and decide to wear
a Rolling Stones tie at work you may
develop a reputation for being a
diehard Stones fan but you are not
necessarily classified as a weirdo.
Even nerds and geeks have their own
kind of chic. So one has to be truly
bizarre to deserve that description
(weirdo). In Spain, however, anybody
who stands out from the crowd be-
cause of a peculiar preference is ea-
sily described as a friki, a pirao or a
chiflao. By the way, a freak is a per-
son who is obsessed with or unusua-
lly enthusiastic about a specified inte-
rest. You may like the film Avatar and
yet not be a freak. Now, if you decide
to get married all painted in blue and
insist that your husband-to-be put
should do the same thing, well, you
might be a freak or even a weirdo. I’ll
give you that.
[3]
Do you think this guy is
weird?
Some expressions we saw in the classroom
stockphrase, former, high-heeled,
catch-up, reunion, T-junction, V-
neck, billboard, creepy, a piece of
cake, dead easy, odd number...
Topics we dealt with• Probability• Paranormal phenomena• Jobs
Our favorite neologism
Telepathetic: a person with the
ability to communicate the wrong
message by using telepathy.
PRONUNCIATIONvillage, vintage, women, ticket, busy, image, bis-cuit
What do these words have in common? If you know the answer, act on it.